I run into the same laziness in Wisconsin. We have New Glarus and their brewing selection is outstanding. Outside of WI you rarely see much beyond Fat Squirrel or Spotted Cow, but in-state the selection both regular and seasonal is a lot of fun. That said, I'm planning on making my first brewing attempt a Porter. Something close to my favorite, Great Lakes Brewery's Edmund Fitzgerald.

Monday night, I opened a bottle of the first porter I brewed. I took a picture for the Internets that looks something like this: (click image to embiggen at Imgur) It turned out much better than I expected, considering there was a near disaster when I brewed it. Read on if you want to hear a s...